The iconic Rovos Rail welcomed a group of Australian travel advisors onboard this week for a three-night journey from Cape Town to Pretoria. The eight front-line travel sellers, and LATTE, were hosted by Adventure World, South African Tourism and South African Airways, part of the 2025 Mega Lekker Escape.
After a safari experience at Kapama Private Game Reserve, and four nights in Cape Town at More Quarters, this was the next stage of the ‘Finer Things’ itinerary crafted by Adventure World’s Product Manager for Africa and the Middle East, Sam Van Eldik.
Our group’s journey is the first of a new schedule for Rovos Rail with a later departure and arrival time that meanders through a variety of South African landscapes, from grasslands of the gold-rich Highveld, to the sandy sparse deserts of nothingness of the Karoo – a vast semi-desert region that was once an enormous inland sea – to cactus and termite mound paddocks, wine lands, farms and fields, and past tracks of gumtree lined properties.
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Rovos Rail maintains the spirit of a bygone era, meaning there are no radios or TVs on board. Guests are able to use their mobile devices, but only in the confines of their private cabins. To the distain of Tiffany Vos, Chief Operating Officer of Rovos Rail, our departure is the very first time the company has offered WiFi for guests in their Suites, moving with the times.
This trip covers 1,600 kilometres and our 10-sqm Deluxe suites are configured with twin beds (convertible to a double) and come with en-suite showers, toilet and basin, small lounge area, writing desk, air conditioning, fridge and other essentials, plus storage spaces for suitcases. There are three Deluxe suites to a carriage, compared to the five berths in the smaller 7 sqm Pullman accommodation. The WiFi connection is strong and faultess for LATTE on our trip.
Rovos Rail has both a lounge car and and observation car where guests can relax and soak up the memorable scenery through massive picture windows during the day, from either the comfort of a sofa or booth, or the open air vestibule at the very rear of the train. Pre or post meals which are hosted in two separate dining cars. Dinners are a four-course affair, paired with matching South African wines.
The Cape Town – Pretoria route includes station stops in the 440-person township of Matjiesfontein, where a bygone double decker bus take centre stage in this Victorian village and the 21 carriage ‘Pride of Africa’ stretches beyond the limits of the town itself. Another stop is made at Kimberley where guests take a tour of the Kimberley Diamond Museum and the “Big Hole”, an open pit and underground mine that is claimed to be the deepest hole in the world excavated by hand.
Now in its 36th year of operation, Vos said Rovos Rail is one of the only luxury trains in the world that has opening windows. Guests are encouraged to done a pair of glasses kept in their cabin’s amenity kit if they choose to, carefully, stick their head out the window!
It’s a stop/start journey, with frequent delays (sometimes for several minutes to hours) due to a privately-owned train operating on a public line, so the experience on this route isn’t what a slow-travel enthusiast may typically expect of constant motion. There were times at night it felt as though we were making up lost time, rocketing through tunnels and the dark. The continuous swaying and rocking motion of our 21 carriage train just adds to the thrill of being onboard such well-preserved icon of the rails.
And LATTE‘s group of new friends weren’t afraid to pose for some fantastic photos onboard Rovos Rail, to showcase the public spaces as we captured here.
Rovos Rail is available through wholesalers, including Adventure World, and is represented in Australia by Luxury Travel Marketing.
Lead image: Pictured here in the dining carriage with some of Rovos Rail’s debonair staff, are the all women advisors: Courtney Hasse, RAA Colonaddes; Naomi Hammond, Helloworld Croydon Hills; Sam Val Eldik, Adventure World; Emma Smith, Back Track Adventures; Cherie Johnson, Flight Centre Richmond Market Place; Michelle Ioppolo, Northern Beaches Travel & Cruise; Toni Sarich, Helloworld Bateau Bay; Ellen Goodwin (front), Flight Centre Baulkham Hills and Sam Hartley (back), Flight Centre Kenmore.
